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| Catalonia's voters await results in regional election - live | Catalonia's voters await results in regional election - live |
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| Confused about which parties are running, what they stand for and who might team up with whom? The Guardian’s Madrid correspondent Sam Jones produced this handy list as part of his guide to the election published earlier today: | |
| Junts per Catalunya (JuntsxCat, Together for Catalonia). The revamp of Catalonia for Yes, the deposed coalition government of ERC and Puigdemont’s Convergència i Unió. The new group insists Puigdemont is the only legitimate president and that the illegal 1 October referendum is the basis for an independent republic, but backs away from committing to a timescale for independence. | |
| Esquerra Repúblicana Catalana (ERC, Catalan Republican Left). ERC is going it alone rather than in coalition with Puigdemont. Its leader, Oriol Junqueras, is in prison, which could give him a moral advantage over Puigdemont, who skipped the country. | |
| Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya (PSC, Catalan Socialist party). The PSC upset many party members by backing Madrid over direct rule but in Miquel Iceta has a leader with strong appeal to anti-independence voters. Open to coalition but not with secessionists. | |
| Partit Popular de Catalunya (PPC, Catalan People’s party). Catalan wing of Spain’s ruling, conservative People’s party. Vows to dismantle pro-independence institutions established over recent years and reform Catalan public TV and radio. Could play vital role in any anti-independence coalition. | |
| Ciutadans (Citizens party). Centre-right, anti-independence party on course for about 25% of vote under leader Inés Arrimadas. Vows to heal the wounds of divided Catalan society. Won’t form government with secessionists but could end up leading left-right coalition of PP, socialists and the leftwing Catalonia in Common. | |
| Catalunya en Comú (Catalonia in Common). Catalan version of the anti-austerity Podemos party. Struggling to shake off accusations of being soft on independence and establish clear identity as left alternative. May well end up as kingmaker. | |
| Candidatura d’Unitat Popular (CUP, Popular Unity Candidacy). The anti-capitalist CUP, whose 10 seats gave Together for Yes a majority, regards the election as illegitimate because it was called by the Spanish government but is standing nonetheless. Refuses to countenance any road other than a unilateral declaration of independence. Current polls suggest its vote is falling. | |
| Guardian contributing editor and former Madrid correspondent Giles Tremlett wonders whether the high turnout could favour the parties that favour Catalonia staying a part of Spain: | |
| #catalonia big surge in voter turnout in urban zones like Barcelona, Baix Llobregat, Tarragona etc... usually more likely to be unionist areas. Could be so-called "silent majority" surge, but this election is just too strange to call @swajones @jonhenley | |
| Carles Puigdemont, the ousted Catalan president, told reporters in Brussels – where he is evading a Spanish arrest warrant – that the election was “extraordinarily important” for the region because “from the results will come the formula to recover democracy”. | |
| Puigdemont fled to Belgium after the Madrid government of prime minister Mariano Rajoy sacked him for pushing ahead with a unilateral independence drive. Several other members of his former cabinet were jailed on charges of sedition and rebellion. | |
| “It’s not normal, an election that takes place with candidates in prison and candidates in exile,” Puigdemont said. He thanked an anonymous 18 year-old woman who cast a ballot paper on his behalf. | |
| The pro-Spanish unity candidate leading some polls ahead of the election has promised to put an end to the divisions in Catalan society that she said had been opened up by the unilateral actions of the separatists. | The pro-Spanish unity candidate leading some polls ahead of the election has promised to put an end to the divisions in Catalan society that she said had been opened up by the unilateral actions of the separatists. |
| Ines Arrimadas, who heads the Citizens party’s slate, told reporters after casting her vote in Barcelona this afternoon: “We are going to fight very hard for Catalonia to return to normalcy.” | Ines Arrimadas, who heads the Citizens party’s slate, told reporters after casting her vote in Barcelona this afternoon: “We are going to fight very hard for Catalonia to return to normalcy.” |
| The candidate of the pro-union socialist PSC party, Miquel Iceta, also said a “change of direction” in Catalan politics was needed “to make progress possible”. | The candidate of the pro-union socialist PSC party, Miquel Iceta, also said a “change of direction” in Catalan politics was needed “to make progress possible”. |
| Oriol Junquieras, leader of the pro-independence ERC party, has tweeted a letter written on 8 December from his cell in Estremera prison, Madrid. | Oriol Junquieras, leader of the pro-independence ERC party, has tweeted a letter written on 8 December from his cell in Estremera prison, Madrid. |
| Carta de Junqueras:"Estimats amics! La presó no ens afebleix. Ans al contrari. Ens fa més forts..." pic.twitter.com/5iscpdfNap | Carta de Junqueras:"Estimats amics! La presó no ens afebleix. Ans al contrari. Ens fa més forts..." pic.twitter.com/5iscpdfNap |
| “Prison does not weaken us,” the deposed vice president of the Catalan regional government wrote. “On the contrary. It makes us stronger.” He said he had not wanted to avoid jail because it was “the best testimony of our absolute commitment to humanism and nonviolence”. | “Prison does not weaken us,” the deposed vice president of the Catalan regional government wrote. “On the contrary. It makes us stronger.” He said he had not wanted to avoid jail because it was “the best testimony of our absolute commitment to humanism and nonviolence”. |
| Voter turnout was up by more than 5 percentage points two hours before polling stations closed, Catalan authorities have said. | Voter turnout was up by more than 5 percentage points two hours before polling stations closed, Catalan authorities have said. |
| The regional election board said 68.3% of Catalan voters had cast their ballots by 6pm, agains 63.12% in the previous 2015 election. | The regional election board said 68.3% of Catalan voters had cast their ballots by 6pm, agains 63.12% in the previous 2015 election. |
| Turnout by 6 p.m five points up from 2015, which established the previous record in a Catalan regional election. pic.twitter.com/uUn4codBKw | Turnout by 6 p.m five points up from 2015, which established the previous record in a Catalan regional election. pic.twitter.com/uUn4codBKw |
| Recent polls had predicted a record turnout as feelings continue to run high both among pro-independence voters angry at Madrid’s response to the October referendum and unionists fed up with the ensuing social unrest and economic instability that have ensued. | Recent polls had predicted a record turnout as feelings continue to run high both among pro-independence voters angry at Madrid’s response to the October referendum and unionists fed up with the ensuing social unrest and economic instability that have ensued. |
| Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Catalonia’s snap regional election, triggered in late October by the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, as Madrid took control of the region in the wake of its illegal independence referendum and unilateral declaration of independence. | Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Catalonia’s snap regional election, triggered in late October by the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, as Madrid took control of the region in the wake of its illegal independence referendum and unilateral declaration of independence. |
| The bitterly contested vote is finely poised, with the pro-independence Catalan Republican Left party (ERC) neck-and-neck in the polls with the unionist, centre-right Ciutadans (Citizens). Its outcome will determine the next phase of the region’s long-running campaign for independence from Spain. | The bitterly contested vote is finely poised, with the pro-independence Catalan Republican Left party (ERC) neck-and-neck in the polls with the unionist, centre-right Ciutadans (Citizens). Its outcome will determine the next phase of the region’s long-running campaign for independence from Spain. |
| Neither party is expected to win a majority in the region’s 135-member chamber and a number of different coalition permutations look possible, making a hung parliament and protracted negotiations to form a new government all but inevitable – with article 155 of the Spanish constitution, which allows Madrid to maintain direct rule, in place until it is formed. | Neither party is expected to win a majority in the region’s 135-member chamber and a number of different coalition permutations look possible, making a hung parliament and protracted negotiations to form a new government all but inevitable – with article 155 of the Spanish constitution, which allows Madrid to maintain direct rule, in place until it is formed. |
| Tensions remain high in Catalonia. The deposed regional president, Carles Puigdemont, has been campaigning from Belgium after fleeing charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds, while his former number two, Oriol Junqueras, is in jail with two other prominent independence leaders. | Tensions remain high in Catalonia. The deposed regional president, Carles Puigdemont, has been campaigning from Belgium after fleeing charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds, while his former number two, Oriol Junqueras, is in jail with two other prominent independence leaders. |
| With a record turnout expected, the outcome could hinge on the more than 20% of voters who are undecided. The Barcelona newspaper La Vanguardia will be publishing an exit poll soon after polls close at 8pm local time and confirmed results should be available fairly quickly, with around 80% of votes expected to be counted by 10.30pm. | With a record turnout expected, the outcome could hinge on the more than 20% of voters who are undecided. The Barcelona newspaper La Vanguardia will be publishing an exit poll soon after polls close at 8pm local time and confirmed results should be available fairly quickly, with around 80% of votes expected to be counted by 10.30pm. |